Witnessed by: Western · Unani
Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis), of the Malvaceae family. Soft velvety perennial of damp ground with pale pink flowers; native range: salt marshes, ditches and damp meadows of Europe and western Asia. Globally recognized as khitmi / khatmi in Arabic, khatmi / gul-khairu in Urdu, and mallards, mortification root, white mallow, guimauve in English. The part used is root and leaf. Whitish, fibrous root sweet and slippery to chew, the whole plant soft-downy; both root and leaf yield a bland, slimy mucilage in water.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
MARSHMALLOW
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- marshmallow
- Scientific name
- Althaea officinalis L.
- Family
- Malvaceae
Form
- Part used
- root and leaf
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- mucilaginous · sweet
- Unani
- sweet · bland
Temperature
- Western
- cool
- Unani
- temperate
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- mucous membranes · lungs · digestion · kidneys · skin
- Unani
- lungs · intestines · kidneys · bladder
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- demulcent, emollient, soothing expectorant, mildly diuretic; a vulnerary poultice
- Unani
- mulattif and munzij (demulcent and ripening), musakkin (soother of pain), munaffis (loosens phlegm), mudirr-e-baul (mild diuretic)
Cautions
Contraindications: no significant contraindication; its cold moist nature suits heat and dryness, not cold damp phlegm
Toxicity: regarded as harmless and food-like
Interactions
- Western
- antidiabetic agents: mucilage may slow glucose absorption, adding to hypoglycaemic effect
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